Nurse Midwives
Also called: Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM), Nurse Midwife, Staff Certified Nurse Midwife, Staff Nurse MidwifeDiagnose and coordinate all aspects of the birthing process, either independently or as part of a healthcare team. May provide well-woman gynecological care. Must have specialized, graduate nursing education.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 10 of its 21 tasks, and jobs are projected to grow 11.5% by 2035. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 5.0 hires for every 10 job openings in health care and social assistance, which employs about 99% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.5.0 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | $133,430 | $132,590 to $173,000 | 60 |
| Arizona | $140,960 | $123,310 to $159,390 | 80 |
| California | $203,840 | $176,080 to $216,560 | 870 |
| Colorado | $137,610 | $126,780 to $146,750 | 180 |
| Connecticut | $130,790 | $129,020 to $134,230 | 150 |
| Delaware | $127,510 | $115,380 to $153,030 | not published |
| District of Columbia | $101,450 | $96,650 to $150,630 | 70 |
| Florida | $127,460 | $68,450 to $132,760 | 460 |
| Georgia | $105,510 | $94,360 to $145,520 | 300 |
| Hawaii | $170,110 | $132,530 to $193,780 | not published |
| Illinois | $120,840 | $97,130 to $138,120 | 280 |
| Indiana | $101,630 | $101,630 to $122,150 | 170 |
| Iowa | $131,360 | $84,450 to $141,410 | 80 |
| Louisiana | $119,280 | $98,990 to $132,250 | 60 |
| Maine | $133,270 | $120,220 to $139,080 | 50 |
| Maryland | $140,120 | $130,700 to $152,310 | 240 |
| Massachusetts | $159,800 | $140,030 to $176,340 | 280 |
| Michigan | $125,140 | $113,840 to $135,730 | 430 |
| Minnesota | $134,810 | $125,070 to $146,560 | 410 |
| Missouri | $130,220 | $121,200 to $141,200 | 80 |
| Nebraska | $138,880 | $135,030 to $138,880 | not published |
| New Hampshire | $142,960 | $140,790 to $159,080 | 60 |
| New Jersey | $153,970 | $141,050 to $167,980 | 120 |
| New Mexico | $123,350 | $110,000 to $142,720 | 50 |
| New York | $144,510 | $130,600 to $162,220 | 360 |
| North Carolina | $126,040 | $105,840 to $139,030 | 240 |
| North Dakota | $72,630 | $71,300 to $132,790 | not published |
| Ohio | $127,730 | $110,430 to $136,150 | 180 |
| Oregon | $146,900 | $133,060 to $159,970 | 240 |
| Pennsylvania | $119,990 | $77,620 to $141,460 | 320 |
| Rhode Island | $135,180 | $118,670 to $141,690 | 80 |
| South Carolina | $122,390 | $99,120 to $132,720 | 100 |
| Tennessee | $116,980 | $104,390 to $125,290 | 330 |
| Texas | $123,380 | $110,780 to $138,290 | 290 |
| Utah | $130,930 | $109,930 to $149,750 | 140 |
| Vermont | $151,030 | $132,450 to $160,350 | 60 |
| Virginia | $135,710 | $126,060 to $156,180 | not published |
| Washington | $158,970 | $110,510 to $162,970 | 170 |
| Wisconsin | $133,070 | $114,190 to $146,450 | 200 |
Nationally: $134,040. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on 10 of its 21 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Provide prenatal, intrapartum, postpartum, or newborn care to patients. | Not published |
| Not much | Monitor fetal development by listening to fetal heartbeat, taking external uterine measurements, identifying fetal position, or estimating fetal size and weight. | Not published |
| AI + software | Document patients' health histories, symptoms, physical conditions, or other diagnostic information. | Not published |
| Not much | Provide patients with direct family planning services, such as inserting intrauterine devices, dispensing oral contraceptives, and fitting cervical barriers, including cervical caps or diaphragms. | Not published |
| Not much | Prescribe medications as permitted by state regulations. | Not published |
| AI + software | Develop and implement individualized plans for health care management. | Not published |
See all 21 tasks
| AI alone | Explain procedures to patients, family members, staff members or others. | under 0.01% |
| AI + software | Order and interpret diagnostic or laboratory tests. | Not published |
| Not much | Initiate emergency interventions to stabilize patients. | Not published |
| AI + software | Document findings of physical examinations. | Not published |
| Not much | Educate patients and family members regarding prenatal, intrapartum, postpartum, newborn, or interconception care. | 0.02% |
| Not much | Perform physical examinations by taking vital signs, checking neurological reflexes, examining breasts, or performing pelvic examinations. | Not published |
| AI + software | Write information in medical records or provide narrative summaries to communicate patient information to other health care providers. | under 0.01% |
| Not much | Provide primary health care, including pregnancy and childbirth, to women. | Not published |
| AI + software | Consult with or refer patients to appropriate specialists when conditions exceed the scope of practice or expertise. | Not published |
| AI + software | Read current literature, talk with colleagues, or participate in professional organizations or conferences to keep abreast of developments in midwifery. | Not published |
| Not much | Instruct student nurse midwives, medical students, or residents on the birthing process. | Not published |
| AI + software | Establish practice guidelines for specialty areas such as primary health care of women, care of the childbearing family, and newborn care. | Not published |
| AI alone | Conduct clinical research on topics such as maternal or infant health care, contraceptive methods, breastfeeding, and gynecological care. | Not published |
| Not much | Plan, provide, or evaluate educational programs for nursing staff, health care teams, or the community. | Not published |
| Not much | Manage newborn care during the first weeks of life. | Not published |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 3 of the 21 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 21 tasks fall under 18 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
- #4 Maintain current knowledge in area of expertise
- #24 Assist others to access additional services or resources
- #26 Research healthcare issues
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administer basic health care or medical treatments | |||
| Examine people or animals to assess health conditions or physical characteristics | |||
| Train others on health or medical topics | |||
| Confer with healthcare or other professionals about patient care | |||
| Maintain health or medical records | |||
| Maintain current knowledge in area of expertise | |||
| Assist others to access additional services or resources | |||
| Research healthcare issues |
Show all 18 activities
| Explain medical information to patients or family members | |||
| Develop operational or technical procedures or standards | |||
| Analyze health or medical data | |||
| Advise patients or clients on medical issues | |||
| Develop patient or client care or treatment plans | |||
| Prepare health or medical documents | |||
| Administer emergency medical treatment | |||
| Order medical tests or procedures | |||
| Prescribe medical treatments or devices | |||
| Administer diagnostic tests to assess patient health |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- An explanation or answer42%
- Advice or a recommendation29%
- A document or report17%
- A plan or strategy2%
- Teaching material2%
How they worked with Claude
19% of these conversations were about work. Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026.
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for nurse midwives specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved in from
of 687 moves in
- 1 Registered Nurses High +5.6% 35%
- 2 Medical and Health Services Managers High +24.2% 16%
- 3 Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive Very high -6.0% 12%
- 4 Coaches and Scouts Moderate +6.1% 9%
- 5 Health Education Specialists Very high +5.6% 7%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 3% post-bachelor's certificate
- 81% master's
- 16% post-master's certificate
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 32 people answered.
1 program: Nurse Midwife/Nursing Midwifery.
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
>99.5% this occupation
45.3% all occupations
| By kind | This occupation | All occupations |
|---|---|---|
| a license | >99.5% | 19.1% |
| a certification | not published | |
| an educational certificate | not published |
Share of jobs whose employer requires it. BLS doesn't say which credential. How to read this
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeships: DOL's list of apprenticeable occupations doesn't include this one.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS
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